Friday, September 01, 2017

This point is not entirely wrong. If the New York City megalopolis can't afford a couple of tunnels, then who can (it's much more complicated than that in practice - no one taxing authority, for one)? Still, in practice, NYC and surrounding aren't going to do it themselves, and if those tunnels go...

Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo have said they expect the federal government to cover half the cost of the Gateway project, which also includes bridges and track improvements. The administration looks on such calls for funding as just the sort that they would like to curtail.

“There’s no people or economic activity in that region that could possibly cover the cost of that?” said the administration official, when asked about a recent appeal by Mr. Cuomo for federal aid for the project. “I think that’s a tough sell, would be my response.”